When Marc-Andre Fleury suited up one last time in a Pittsburgh Penguins uniform during the preseason, there were many nods to the past in how he pranked his teammates, his on-ice demeanor in practice, and, of course, the return of his famous yellow goalie pads.
Those pads served not only as a staple to Fleury’s style but also as an identifiable trait that the fans always loved and remembered him for. And for one person in particular, Fleury’s pads are what made him fall in love with the Penguins halfway across the world.
“Me and my friends in the lower grades, we were watching NHL highlights all the time with the only computer we had at school,” Alvin Brolin said, who lives in Söderhamn, Sweden.
“That was the only time we could watch NHL games, because we couldn't watch full games. So, we watched these highlights, and I saw Fleury with his yellow pads, and I thought that it was crazy good-looking. So, I was like, ‘That's my team.’”
Now 27 years old, Alvin got to reexperience that feeling of seeing Fleury play one more time when he followed the coverage on social media during the preseason game on Sept. 27.
“It was so much fun,” Alvin said. “To see him, Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Kris Letang, and everyone have so much fun. It was so nostalgic in that way, like the good old times in the 2010s. I loved it. It was a really good initiative on the Penguins’ part.”
As if Fleury’s style wasn’t enough to convince Alvin to follow the team when he was still in school, Crosby’s incredible sliding goal in a game against Tampa Bay back in 2007 sealed the deal. It came on goaltender Johan Holmqvist, a Swedish native whom Alvin followed closely.
“Everything that Sid stands for off the ice and on the ice seems to be everything that the game is about,” Alvin said. “So, it's really cool just to see how he goes about the game at warmups, how he practices, and the games. It's just a great experience.”
Living outside North America and in a time zone six hours ahead, it is difficult for Alvin to watch Penguin games live, so he watches highlights and reads articles from the team’s local coverage before he goes to work in the mornings.
When the news broke back in March that the team would be going to Sweden for the 2025 NHL Global Series, it was a “no-brainer” for Alvin to go, who lives roughly two hours from Stockholm.
“I called my dad really fast, because he's also a Penguins fan, and said, ‘We need to buy as many tickets as we can,’” he said ahead of the first matchup with the Predators. “We bought them a week later, and it came into fruition. It's just so much fun to be here.”
Alvin and his dad went to Friday’s game, while his mom and fiancé joined the group on Sunday. During those two games between Pittsburgh and Nashville during the Global Series, it was not only a chance for Alvin and his crew to see a live NHL game, but also for so many other hockey fans overseas.
“I think it's not only a Swedish thing, but it's a European thing,” Alvin said. “For everyone here, it's the first time that we can see games live, and we don't have to go so far to see them. Everyone is excited about this and the opportunity to see Crosby live, but also Erik Karlsson, Rickard Rakell, and everyone.”
Alvin’s passion for the Penguins meant that he also became a Steelers fan, rocking a sweatshirt he found at a local thrift store to Avicii Arena. He and his father watch the games when they can, and Alvin has made a lot of his friends fans of both the NHL and the NFL.
“We watch the NFL every Sunday together at 7, and then the later window games,” Alvin said. “And then we would try to watch the NHL on Fridays and Saturdays. We're big North American sports fans.”
Today, Alvin is a PE teacher at a local school in Sweden, and is always worried that his students will spoil the Penguins' scores before he can see them. But there was no spoiling the live experience he had after seeing the Penguins cap off the Global Series with a 4-0 win over the Predators.
“It's the best thing, and it doesn't get better than that,” Alvin said.
